GEOG 101 Exam 3

Russia’s size

Russia’s size

largest country in the world, 1.2 times larger than Antartica and 1.8 times larger than US

much of Russia’s climate is defined by

continentality: extreme differences in summer \n vs. winter temperatures

permafrost

a thick soil layer that is frozen year-round

settlement patterns in Russia

80% live in European Russia and the 6 other countries

many people moved east into Siberian Russia because

railroads, employment, distance from government control

Gulag

system of labor camps

Putin impact on russia

largely consolidated power, resurgence of tensions between Russia and the west

soviet economic system

central economic planning: controlled all industry and agriculture

cultural divisions in ukraine

eastern Ukraine: Russian language and Eastern Orthodoxy are dominant.

western Ukraine: Ukrainian language and Catholicism are dominant.

russia and china relationship

china increase business partnership through transportation and oil pipelines and refineries

thawing permafrost

risks of landslides and release of stored carbon, 70% of arctic infrastructure is at risk

communism

transfer of industry and agriculture from private companies to government control, one-party control of the government

culture in russia

expansion of Slavic language and Eastern Orthodox Christianity; range of ethnicities, languages, and religions

russification

soviet government incentivized Russian people’s movement to remote parts of the USSR

desiccation

drying up of lakes and wetlands

population density in Central Asia

sparsely populated, Central Asia has a low overall density and a high physiological density

religion in central asia

tibetan buddhism in tibet, mongolia, and Inner Mongolia; islam dominant everywhere else

alluvial fans

where rivers flowing out of the mountains have deposited fertile soil

theocracy

government directly connected to religion

political stability of former soviet republics

power vacuums, no structure, political upheaval because of difficult transition

Tibet

considered itself independent country for a time (1912-1951), theocracy

autonomous region

tibet, some degree of political/cultural autonomy from Chinese government

steppe

continuous grasslands extend 4000 miles across region, unsustainable use has led to desiccation

cities in central asia

many have ancient origins, Samarkand and Bukhara, and beijing; others are very new, being expanded or created during the soviet era, Astana

apples

Central Asia

capital of kazakhstan

Astana, a forward capital, new capital formed in a former remote area

snow leopard

tibetan plataue

“-stan”

persian for ‘place of’

white gold

nickname for cotton, uzbekistan

opium

Afghanistan, 80% of the world’s illegal supply from here

economic growth in china recently

1990-2010, benefitting china’s coastal region and the wealthy economic elite

settlement patterns in east asia

settlements and agriculture are concentrated in the fertile lowland areas

rice terraces

japan

physical landscapes of china

north-flatter, south-hillier

tsunami

huge sea waves produced by underwater earthquakes

Japan vulnerability to tsunami

island near 4 tectonic plates

taiwan

communist party took over and the ROC government fled to Taiwan

air pollution

big issue in east Asia’s urban area (especially in china), Japan doing pollution exporting, relocating factories to china and southeast asia

physical landscapes of japan

85% of land is mountainous

population of east asia

densely populated with a large number of people, urban, 1.7 billon (20% of world)

hong kong

special administrative region of the PRC, “one country, two systems” model,